She's The One
by FollowTheButterflys
Summary: I had always liked her. But she'd never liked me. However, she seemed to be making an effort. Finally.   A short-ish, story about James and Lily. Cute and multiple perspectives  James, Lily, Sirius etc.   please R&R.
1. Invitation

Chapter One: Invitation

"NO!"

I hear this word a lot and although it was for the umpteenth time that I had asked her, I still felt rejection wash over me and take control of my thoughts for a split second. However instead of being a gentleman, I put forth my charade of pig headedness and replied, "Come on, I know you dream about me, I know how much you secretly want me!"

She rolled her eyes and frowned, "If it were between you and a Blast Ended Skrewt, I'd still pick the Skrewt". She turned on the spot and I watched her walk away with her head held high. That perfect waist length scarlet mane of hair rippling as she took each step. When she walked away like that it sent chills down my spine and I couldn't help but take a quick intake of breath despite the fact that I knew how much she loathed me.

"Good one mate" a voice said snapping me out of my reverie, "I'm sure if you ask her one more time, she'll just magically say yes". This witty reply came from my best friend as he stole a piece of my breakfast bacon. His name is Sirius Black.  
>He and his family are pureblood's and they were all in Slytherin, but somehow, Sirius manage to break the chain and is a Gryffindor like me. He had storm gray eyes, brown messy hair, a casual manner and a lazy signature grin that seemed to make girls lust after him.<p>

"Don't worry mate, one day I'll get into her knickers," I said as I winked at him.  
>Sirius smirked back at me and said, "Yeah you wish".<br>It was funny that he said that, because it was true, I wished so badly that I could have Lily Evans. Not just for a night, but forever. This might sound stupid but I just knew that Lily Evans was the one for me, and I just needed her to see this too.

So, I guess it's time to introduce myself, I'm James Potter, Pureblood, not that I care, and I am in my fifth year of Hogwart's School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry

"James"  
><em>That beautiful hair<br>_"James Potter"  
><em>Those beautiful eyes<br>_"James!"  
><em>That beautiful smi- <em>"JAMES POTTER, I do not wish to have to ask you again, what is the answer to Question 3B about Human Transfiguration on page 394?"  
>"I'm sorry Professor, I don't know" I replied hastily without registering the question.<p>

To be honest it was funny that I didn't have an answer to Minerva McGonagall's question, because, as it is, I am an Animagus; a human who can turn into an animal at will. Sirius and I had figured out how to do this in second year and it took us until end of fourth year to perfect it, however she had caught me off guard,

"That's right Potter you don't know because you were too busy staring at Miss Evans. Please, wipe the drool off your face and PAY ATTENTION"  
>Naturally, I was mortified at having been outed by McGonagall, but I grinned lazily at Lily as if to say no big deal but instead of scowling at me as usual, she smiled at me, just a tiny smile, and looked away. My heart stopped.<p>

"Ha-ha" laughed Sirius bringing me out of my momentary lapse of being, "You're going to have to do a better job at hiding your testosterone from Minnie, mate" he smiled at the joke. I sighed inwardly, Sirius was a stud, but he had no idea how to treat girls. He had one, one day, then two days later onto another one. I was starting to think he was incapable of having a girlfriend, though many tried.

Unfortunately I had picked up his bad habits of rudeness around the ladies, which is why the one girl I truly seeked attention from, pretty much hates my guts. As I said Sirius had been with many girls over the years and nearly all the girls at school wish they could have a piece of him. I knew that even though Sirius loved the attention from them, he kind of wished they'd leave him alone sometimes, "Girls are too high maintenance" he once told me and I couldn't agree more.

After Transfiguration, Sirius and I walked down to the Black Lake to do some "studying" as he liked to call it. Really he just used this time to stare around at nothing while "obliviously unaware" of girls staring at him. Our friends, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, soon joined us and I immediately struck up a conversation with Lupin about my Transfiguration homework.

It was a few minutes later when I heard them laughing, I could pick out her tinkling laugh anywhere. It was Lily with her three friends, Alice Prewett, Nymphadora Tonks (or just Tonks as she like to be called) and Emilia Wood. Tonks was Sirius' cousin and both she and Emilia were on the Gryffindor Quidditch team along with me and Sirius so we all knew each other quite well. Alice on the other hand, wasn't someone I knew as well. She was an oddity and I never would have picked Lily or Emilia to be friends with such a girl. However I knew how she came to be there, Lily had been compassionate enough to befriend the lonely girl in first year and they had been best friends ever since.

I could see that whatever humour from their conversation that had caused Lily to laugh was gone. It was obvious that Lily was having an argument with Emilia and I was a little startled when Emilia started to point at us vigorously. Lily glanced up and saw me staring but it seemed that there was not going to be any more smiles from her today, she had a scowl on her face and looked slightly apprehensive. It seemed that Emilia had finally won whatever argument that she and Lily were having as the four girls started to walk towards us, Emilia at the front with Tonks bounding by her side and Lily and Alice walking slowly behind.

"Hello Boys!" Emilia called happily;  
>"Hi Emilia" Sirius and I called back simultaneously.<br>"We were just coming to invite you to a little... sort of get together later... would you be willing to join us?" she asked,  
>"That depends on what kind of get together this is Emilia" Sirius replied fondly.<br>"It's a party, one you'd approve of I'm sure. Only it's in a secret location and it will start later tonight, are you boy's game?"  
>"Emilia" replied Sirius exhaustedly, "Did you seriously just ask that question? Do you seriously think that <em>I, Sirius Black <em>can't handle a bit of sneaking around? HA! Don't make me laugh sweet pea, we'll be there"  
>"Perfect!" cried Emilia and she sat down to have a conversation with him.<p>

Lily was still standing awkwardly next to our little group even though her three friends were sitting comfortably having conversations. I looked at Lily and gestured for her to sit next to me. Instead she frowned and went and sat next to Sirius who casually put an arm around her shoulder, "How's it going Red?" he asked  
>"I'm good thanks Sirius" and she gave him a warm smile<br>As she did, I felt a stab of jealously towards Sirius, why couldn't she smile at me like that?

Sirius looked at me and let go of Lily. I didn't know what look I wore on my face but it was obviously enough for him to realise I was unhappy and he sheepishly grinned at me. I looked away and pretended to be absorbed in my homework until the bell rang for afternoon classes,  
>"Well we'd better go" said Tonks, "We'll let you know the details about tonight in the common room after classes okay?" she smiled that goofy smile that matched her cousin's so well,<br>"Yeah so make sure you're in the common room at about six okay? We'll meet you there" said Emilia with a flirtatious grin directed at Sirius.  
>Sirius and I both nodded and watched as the girls walked away.<p>

"We'd better not get caught, or my prefect status might get revoked" said Lupin faking seriousness  
>"We won't, how many times have we gotten caught?" asked Sirius,<br>"Only about 23 times?" I replied laughingly,  
>"Exactly, none, and anyway we've done worse, and we need to kick start our term, this is the perfect way to do it" he said with a mischievous smile.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>DISCLAIMER: I do not own any recognizable characters. Everything is J.K Rowling's. The only thing I own is my original story linesplots. I may have used some quotes or references that I also do not own. J.K Rowling is the amazing writer who thought of everything. **

**Author's Note: A little note from me, just wanted to say that guys, everyone loves a review. Even just a couple of words, if you can take ten minutes out of your day to read my story than you could take another thirty seconds to write me a review. Reviews are not only for my benefit but for any of you who follow my story, leave me a review and then I'll know what need to change and what you want to see happen. **

**Thanks muffins, ****Amy **


	2. Eventfulness

Chapter Two: Eventfulness

_I don't know what to wear!  
><em>I held up a blue formal-ish shirt, _will she like it? _I thought, _Oh my god I sound like a chick...  
><em>_"_SIRIUS?" I yelled, hoping he could help me regain my manliness,  
>"What's your problem?" he replied,<br>"I don't know what to wear to this stupid party tonight" I explained,  
>"Man you sound like a girl" Sirius laughed at me. I glared him, now was not the time.<p>

"Don't worry who cares "and he tossed me the blue shirt and my jeans. As I folded and placed them at the foot of my bed, I sighed; Sirius never cared what he looked like but regardless still managed to look respectable. I glared at him at him yet again,  
>"You know what if I look like a twat, I will hate you forever, deal?"<br>Sirius snorted "Yeah okay, whatever you say, I'm sure Evans isn't interested in what you're wearing anyways, she's concentrating more on thinking of which curse to use on you when you ask her out again!"

I shot him a dark look and he cringed. Sirius knew that what I felt for Lily was more than just wanting to "hook up" with her. I wanted to make her feel special, let her know she was the only one for me, except, whenever I tried to express my feelings they always came out wrong and I think I sounded arrogant.  
>"Yoo-hoo! Day dreamer! We have to go and meet the girls downstairs" and he suddenly got adopted a mischievous smile,<br>"You know, I'm feeling adventurous tonight, maybe I'll try and hang out with Emilia" I snorted and laughed,  
>"Yeah like she'd ever go out with you, you're on the team and she's not that stupid" and I laughed at him again,<br>"We'll see about that" Sirius replied quietly as we walked down the stairs to the common room.

When we got there, there was a crowd was milling. We joined the rapidly growing group of people and craned our necks to see where Tonks and Emilia where standing on two upturned chairs.  
>"Wotcher everyone!" said Tonks with a bright smile<br>"As you know there is a 'study group' happening tonight" she said with a guilty smile,  
>"And I'm assuming everyone here is of 5th year and upwards?" There was a collective "Yes" around the room and Tonks continued,<br>"As I myself don't know exactly where this 'study group' is being gathered, I will let Miss Wood take over from here".  
>Tonks stepped down and Emilia carried on from where she left off,<p>

"Yes hello everyone, I've been given a spell to use on you all by the co-ordinaters of this 'study group' and I am to silently incantate it and apparently it will lead the way when the time is ready".  
>There was a series of what the hells from around the room and some people left, obviously not wanting to be accidentally cursed by the infamous Emilia Wood. Emilia cleared her throat and glared at the retreating backs of Katherine Bell and Sarah Brown,<br>"Yes, yes everyone knows I'm not the best at spells but don't worry, this one's easy" and she smiled a big smile.  
>A look of intense concentration took over Emilia's face and she pulled out her wand. I had to admit I felt a bit nervous myself, but, after what felt like a few minutes, Emilia spoke again,<p>

"Okay folks, that's all there is to it". I couldn't feel anything whatsoever so looked around the room confused, apparently no-one else had felt anything either.  
>I nudged Sirius and he just shrugged and whispered, "I'm sure something is likely happen soon enough, knowing Emilia". And so, our moods feeling a little deflated, Sirius and I trudged back to our rooms where a flustered Lupin was waiting.<p>

"I'm sorry I missed the info, I had to finish my prefect duties!" he said exasperatedly,  
>"You guys better not get me into more trouble tonight" he said despite having a happy smile on his face.<br>"You know, I think this is bollocks anyway, I didn't feel anything whatsoever" said Sirius  
>"Yeah me neither I'm guessing we'll feel something when 'the time is ready'" and we all laughed and got ready for bed.<p>

Before getting into bed, Sirius and I looked at each other and shrugged and I secretly hoped that I wouldn't be missing an ear in the morning thanks to Emilia's poor charm work skills…

I awoke to a strange tingling sensation making its way all over my body. I looked at my watch which told me it was 12.36am. I crept over to Sirius' bed where I found he was awake also,

"Okay what the hell, I feel all tingly and fuzzy" I explained to him  
>"It's your sensitive side settling in mate, maybe you'll have a shot with Evans tonight after all huh?" and he winked at me,<br>"But you're right I feel it too, and I feel like we should be going somewhere, only I don't know exactly where..."  
>"Oi Lupin, are you awake?" I yelled in a hushed tone<br>"No, I'm asleep" I smiled into the darkness,  
>"Kidding, I'm awake, only I don't feel fuzzy and weird like apparently you two do" Remus replied.<p>

It was Sirius, who came to the conclusion,  
>"It's because he wasn't there when we had the spell put on us, but I'm guessing he can just follow us?" he said<br>"Yeah I guess so, up and at-em Lupin, get your butt out of bed and put some pants on!"  
>"Or you could go without pants on, your choice" Sirius added as an afterthought and we all laughed.<br>I could feel the spell too. It was like some invisible pull trying to drag me to some unknown place. Sirius, Remus and I got dressed and I turned around to show them my outfit, Sirius wolf-whistled at me,

"Oooh check you out" and he laughed. I rolled my eyes at him, grabbed my invisibility cloak (given to me by my dad) and we set off, but not without hearing an undisturbed snore from sleeping Peter,  
>"Do you think we should have invited him?" I asked<br>"Nah, he wouldn't be very comfortable at this kind of _soiree_" Sirius said mockingly.

Walking to the location of the party was an unsettling sensation. It felt like my feet and brain knew where I was going; only my mind didn't. After a while of walking silently through the castle underneath the cloak hunched over with huge Sirius and tall Lupin I felt my vision go blurry. I heard Sirius yelp as he tripped and shushed him, "Okay this is spooky, do we keep walking?" I whispered,

"Come on, grow a set, we've done worse than this, let's go" Sirius replied,  
>"Hush" said Lupin,<br>Yeah, this was getting creepy.

Nevertheless we kept walking until finally we could hear music and the hum of people talking and laughing. When my vision finally cleared, I saw what seemed to be an underground loft, adorned with fairy lights, with actual fairies in jars I might add, and comfy looking couches. Sirius eyed the food table and I watched him as he shuffled over to it as I noted Lupin wandering off.

For a while, I peered around looking for people I knew and my heart fluttered and sped up when I spotted Lily, laughing casually with Alice and Tonks and so help me, Lupin. I could see her hair shimmering under the dim lighting. I could see she had curled her normally straight locks and if possible she looked even more beautiful than normal.

My gazings were interrupted when a pair of hands covered my eyes and I guessed a variety names, apparently I guessed wrong as the response was,  
>"Phh no you idiot it's me" coming from Emilia's familiar laughing voice. I turned around and sure enough, the thin yet strongly built Gryffindor Chaser stood in front of me in a little black dress that suited her <em>very<em> well,  
>"Hey Emilia, you look pretty" and I smiled at her,<br>"Ha-ha c'mon James, save the unnecessary compliments for Lily yeah?" and she winked at me. I glanced over at Lily absorbed in conversation, her face was relaxed and she looked beautiful. I heard Emilia laugh at me and then watched her wander over to Lily who had finally noticed me staring; like a coward, I looked away hurriedly and pretended to be looking for somebody.

I frantically scanned the room until I located a familiar face; it was Dana Thomas standing a little ways apart from her friend Lila Brown who was all over an astonished looking Frank Longbottom. I walked over to her,  
>"Hey Dana, how are you?" I asked politely however for some reason she sighed,<br>"I'm fine James how are you?" she replied,  
>"I'm great, how's your little brother, settling in okay? He's first year isn't he?"<p>

Apparently I had said the wrong thing as her expression darkened considerably,

"Well actually he was the one you lead into a classroom of Cornish pixies the other day! He was stuck in there for three hours before somebody heard him and now he's petrified of things that fly, which is pretty much every object in every classroom, seriously, playing a prank like that on a first year, how much more immature can you get?"  
>"That's was <em>your<em> brother?" I asked incredulously  
>"Yes, that was <em>my<em> brother" she said coldly and she stormed off.  
>Feeling bad about myself I shuffled over to where Sirius was in deep conversation with a flirtatious looking Emilia.<br>I reached them and cleared my throat loudly,

"So how's it going?" I asked Emilia. She looked up at me and looked a little pissed,  
>"Uh I'm fine James but we were kind of having a conversation…" she smiled sideways at Sirius,<br>"Go and talk to Lily" and she smiled at me. I took the hint and looked pointedly at Sirius who just shifted guiltily looking at his feet. He looked up and wore an apologetic expression. I shrugged and decided to finally approach Lily.

I spotted her at once, hard not to with her beautiful red hair, let alone the fact that I was sure I could spot her in even in a hugest of crowds. I made my way over to her and managed to wedge myself between her and Alice on a bright pink pouffe couch. Once I was comfy I turned on the charm;  
>"Hello laaaaaaadies, I'm all up for grabs tonight, any of you fancy a bit of the James man?" Tonks snorted,<br>"No thanks James, I don't think my cousin would be too happy with you" I shrugged and spoke to Lily,  
>"How 'bout you Evans, you feeling keen tonight?" I asked her and she nearly choked on her pumpkin juice,<br>"No amount of flattery and wit would ever get me to say yes to you James".

I shrugged and put my arm around Lily I felt her stiffen and saw her roll her eyes but she didn't shake me off, however she did pointedly pick up a conversation with Tonks. I didn't mind and I felt her relax against me but I refused to let myself get to over-excited. Noticing Alice for the first time I gave her a genuine smile and chatted to her for a bit and I soon noticed that she was a little distracted.

I could see she was staring at something and followed her line of sight to where Frank Longbottom was standing with his arm around Lila Brown, I could see that she had a sort of wistful expression on her face but I had no idea what it meant. After a while everyone started to talk in one big group conversation about family back home. I had long since noticed that both Sirius and Emilia had disappeared, probably with each other, and I was just starting to relax and enjoy the conversation when Lily suddenly stood up.

Lily briskly walked out the door and I followed her to the ladies room where I could hear her crying,  
>"I know that's you out there James" came her voice thick with tears through the stall,<br>"Leave me alone why did you follow me anyways?" I pondered that for a moment, I had followed her because I could see she was upset. Why was that such a surprise to her?  
>"I don't know sweet, maybe something about you being emotional and vulnerable is a turn on for me?" I called to her. I heard her giggle, a reaction I had never got out of her before, and she unlocked the door.<p>

If anything, crying made her look even more stunning. I could see the moisture on her eyelids. I could see every tear that was caught in her long eyelashes and each one looked like a shimmering jewel. She must have felt uncomfortable at my staring because she blinked and rubbed her tears away,  
>"Look James, I know you have this infatuation with me, I've had to deal with it for the past four years, but honestly don't you think you could tone down the jerkiness?" I simply stared at her because if only she knew how I truly felt.<p>

_James you're such an idiot just tell her! Do it! 1-2-3 go! _

"Lily I-"I started,  
>"Do you want to know the pathetic reason that I ran out crying?" she cut over me and I faltered,<br>"Uh… sure?" I said dejectedly  
>"It was the conversation about home, everyone's families so blissfully perfect. And there I was thinking about my family, the thing is. My sister hates me, she's a muggle and she resents me for being a witch and there is nothing I can do about it…"<p>

She tried to carry on but her emotion got the better of her, tears cascaded down her cheeks like the Niagra Falls and I was so stunned I didn't know what to do.  
>Eventually, instinct kicked in and I just hugged her, it wasn't an affectionate hug, I was just her shoulder to cry on. However my heart still accelerated. I relished at the sweet moment and I found myself breathing in her smell. She smelled so good; there were no words to describe it. I was so intoxicating. Too soon she eventually stifled her sobs, let go of me and stepped back.<p>

"Thank you James" and she smiled and walked away…

* * *

><p><strong>DISCLAIMER: I do not own any recognizable characters. Everything is J.K Rowling's. The only thing I own is my original story linesplots. I may have used some quotes or references that I also do not own. J.K Rowling is the amazing writer who thought of everything. **

**Author's Note: A little note from me, just wanted to say that guys, everyone loves a review. Even just a couple of words, if you can take ten minutes out of your day to read my story than you could take another thirty seconds to write me a review. Reviews are not only for my benefit but for any of you who follow my story, leave me a review and then I'll know what need to change and what you want to see happen. **

**Thanks muffins, ****Amy **


	3. Conflicts

Chapter Three: Conflicts

"Hey Prongs!" Sirius had said walking in at 5.21am exceedingly chipper for someone who had presumably been awake all night,  
>"Hey Pads, what's got you so happy?" I replied,<br>"Oh nothing, except for the fact that I only just got back from spending the last three hours with a certain hot Chaser we know?" and he winked at me and laughed,  
>"EMILIA? You and <em>Emilia<em> hooked up? Oh great Pads, that's perfect, now when you break her heart she's going to be all bitter at training, do you have any idea what this is going to do to the team if you screw her over?" I was seething,  
>"Hey, calm down mate, we're both adults, she said she only wanted fun which hell, is exactly what I need! And don't pull the whole 'you're gonna ruin Quidditch' bullshit on me, you know you're just bitter because Lily still despises you"<p>

I rolled my eyes and glared at him and he just laughed at me. To be honest I _was_ jealous of him! How come Mister I'm So Handsome gets any girl he wants? How come he can just go to a party and come home with another girl added to his hit list? There was only one girl I wanted, only one I needed to have so bad that sometimes it hurt and that was Lily, but the only problem was that she supposedly saw me as just her shoulder to cry on. So I've pretty much taken on the role of friend with a shoulder to cry on.

Yay.

At the party I thought I had made _some _progress with Lily. However I think she's avoiding me now as I hadn't talked to her in days. Maybe she was embarrassed?  
><em>I don't know, the inner workings of a girls mind are too complex for a male brain<em> I thought to myself. Pondering Lily and thinking about that night I received a fright when Sirius burst through the door with a scary look on his face,  
>"Guess.. What..." he panted as if he'd run up the grand staircase,<p>

"Bloody Emilia Wood thinks she's too Miss Perfect for me. ME? I mean, come on, I knew we weren't going to be serious but I mean... Ugh..." I looked at my best friend like he was crazy.  
>For three seconds I was stunned, then I just laughed at him, I laughed and I laughed and I laughed. He looked at me and then joined in. It felt so good to laugh; girls lately seemed to get us both down. He grinned at me and threw a pillow at my head.<p>

That's when a fully fledged pillow fight broke out. After about five minutes, both of us gasping and rolling on the floor, Remus burst in, "Honestly you two..." but proceeded to chuck a pillow at us and joined in. After our immaturity had waned Remus stood up, adjusted his Prefect badge and went to sit cross legged on his bed. Sirius and I untangled ourselves and also went to sit on our own beds.

"So Pads, now that Emilia's dumped you what are you gonna do?"  
>"I don't know maybe I'll focus on..."<br>"Focus on what?" Remus asked politely, Sirius blushed,  
>"Uhh nothing... school..."<br>"Since when do you concentrate on school?" I asked incredulously  
>"Since now" and if to prove his point he stole Remus' book and started to read it upside down. Remus and I looked at each other and raised our eyebrows, I gave him a look and he understood the meaning perfectly;<em> something's up.<em> I nodded.

"So Prongs, how's Lily?"  
>"I wouldn't know, ever since the party she hasn't said a word to me, let alone screamed at me"<br>"She probably has PMS" was Sirius' witty reply  
>"Ignore him; she's probably got some perfectly good reason to be staying away from you"<p>

_Yeah maybe, or maybe she just hates me even more than usual..._

**Lily's Perspective: **

_STUPID, BLOODY, JAMES, POTTER!_

I was seething again as I thought about that night. Crying on bloody _Potter's _shoulder, how COULD I be so STUPID? If only I had had a little less to drink, then maybe I would have been a little more with it. But no, instead I had to cry on his shoulder for no bloody reason. What the hell was I going to do...?

It was lunchtime and the seven, oops! Eight of us (forgot peter) were sitting under the beech tree by the Black Lake, our usual Wednesday gathering spot. I struggled to keep my eyes off James as I could feel him looking at me. I turned to talk to Sirius and ask him how he was as Emilia had dumped him earlier that day; I thought it safe to talk to him as she was busily chatting to Lupin.

"How are you Pads, I heard about the uhh... incident this morning..." He just looked at me,  
>"Hey no worries, I'm a big boy, I'll bounce back, are you offering Red?" and he winked at me and put his arm around me. I always felt a little awkward when he did this, even though it was a regular occurrence, but I knew that every time he did this, James was watching, and I couldn't help but feel a little guilty <em>even though I have no reason to of course<em> I quickly thought to myself. Someone wolf-whistled and I found it had been Tonks who had provided us with the awkward noise,

"Looky here everybodddyyyy, Sirius and Lillllyyy!" and she giggled, I shot daggers at her as she knew full well that Sirius and I were just friends. I looked briefly over at James and saw his expression was stormy. Sirius must have noticed to as he hastily withdrew his arm.  
>Looking at his pained expression made me question his intentions, seeing him sitting there, looking truly upset at Sirius, I questioned him internally. Maybe he honestly did like me, and just didn't know what to say? No, I was over thinking this, he's James Potter, winner of the arrogant toe-rag award of the 21st century.<p>

"You know she's like a sister to me! And you're practically my brother!"  
>I had just ripped into Sirius. I had finally had enough of Sirius flirting with Lily when he knew how much I liked her,<br>"Yeah I know that! But seeing you flirting with her makes me so mad!"  
>"Yeah man I know and I'm sorry but you know I'm a naturally flirty person" he replied, he carried on;<br>"Can I ask you a question? I promise it will stay secret if you answer truthfully" And as if the severity of the situation wasn't clear before, he crossed his heart with a silly sincere look on his face.

Feeling my anger waning and trying not to laugh I said  
>"Go ahead Master Black, ask me the question you so desire to ask"<br>"Do you love Lily Evans"  
>WOW.<p>

I could her somebody breathing really loudly, only to realise it was me.  
>I did not expect that, let alone from Sirius… Did I love her?<br>I guess that was the question I should have been asking myself since about two years ago...

Did I love Lily Evans?

* * *

><p><strong>DISCLAIMER: I do not own any recognizable characters. Everything is J.K Rowling's. The only thing I own is my original story linesplots. I may have used some quotes or references that I also do not own. J.K Rowling is the amazing writer who thought of everything. **

**Author's Note: A little note from me, just wanted to say that guys, everyone loves a review. Even just a couple of words, if you can take ten minutes out of your day to read my story than you could take another thirty seconds to write me a review. Reviews are not only for my benefit but for any of you who follow my story, leave me a review and then I'll know what need to change and what you want to see happen. **

**Thanks muffins, ****Amy **


	4. Quidditch

Chapter Four: Quidditch

I didn't have much time to think about Lily. Quidditch Season was coming up. Quidditch is a huge deal. Top of the list. Nothing more important.  
>I didn't have time to think about the question that Sirius had asked a few weeks ago. And quite frankly, I didn't want to…<p>

Emilia and Sirius ran up to me during breakfast with huge smiles on their faces, "Guess what we just found out?" laughed Sirius, "The team sheets for the first match were just put up in the entrance hall, and guess who is playing the new Slytherin Beater?" Emilia scoffed. I thought hard.  
>Team sheets were lists of the house Quidditch players that were put up just before a Quidditch Match to show who would be playing. This was because sometimes the Quidditch teams changed for instances such as if people pulled out or got injured.<p>

Gryffindor's nearly always stayed the same throughout the whole year but other teams did sometimes change around. Gregorius Flint, an ex-Slytherin Beater, was knocked out during a Slytherin training last week and Madame Pomfrey (our new, very cute school matron) had refused to let him play in the first match against us.  
>This meant that Slytherin needed a new beater and we Gryffindor's knew that their trials had been dismal, so when Sirius shoved the team sheet at me I nearly choked on my Pumpkin Juice.<p>

It read:

_Saturday October 2nd Gryffindor vs. Slytherin  
><em>  
>Gryffindor Quidditch Team:<br>Chaser: James Potter  
>Chaser: Emilia Wood<br>Chaser: Anna McLaughlin  
>Beater: Sirius Black<br>Beater: Heath MacAulay  
>Keeper: Nymphadora Tonks<br>Seeker: Hannah Finnigan

Slytherin Quidditch Team:  
>Chaser: Rachel Raspern<br>Chaser: Harold Parkinson  
>Chaser: Gregory Mulciber<br>Beater: Antonin Dolohov  
>Beater: Severus Snape<br>Keeper: Jacob Avery  
>Seeker: Archie Dozier<p>

"Severus _Snivellus_ Snape? _That_ is Slytherin's new beater?" I gasped nearly passing out from lack of oxygen from laughing so hard,  
>"Oh we have got the Quidditch cup in the BAG this year!" I grinned at Sirius who grinned excitedly back,<br>"Oh and you haven't heard the best news" said Emilia,  
>"We're versing them first in three weeks, this means that they won't have much time to train him up!" I grinned happily; this was good news as Gryffindor would most likely be able to secure the Quidditch Cup for the second year running!<p>

Alice and Lily ambled over to us,  
>"What's up everyone?" Alice asked,<br>"Oh nothing, just discussing the fact that the new Slytherin Beater is Snivelly Snape" said Sirius. The two girls' reactions were not quite the same as mine, Emilia's and Sirius's,  
>"Oh, is that it?" said Alice,<p>

"Yeah, seriously we thought someone like James had secured all Outstanding in his O.W.L's now that would be something to be cheerful about". I poked my tongue out at Lily, and was a little put out as I achieved my highest marks last year achieving Exceeds Expectations in everything. I frowned; did she think I was stupid?

"Whatever Red" replied Sirius, "Quidditch is way more important than _school_, hell, it could be even more important than scoring chicks!" I laughed at him knowing he was joking but Lily frowned,  
>"You know Sirius, you're attitude's going to get you into trouble one day" she said<br>"Aw c'mon Red, it was a joke, you know I love all girls and their complex mood swings, their mixed signals and sensitive souls" Sirius said seriously sarcastically.

Lily sighed, turned on her heel, and walked away.  
>As she did, the butterflies in my stomach fluttered a little.<p>

* Later that day

**Lily's Perspective: **

"Honestly, he's like a six year old getting all excited over _Quidditch_" scorn dripped of the word as I said it.  
>"Come on Lils, don't be hard on him, it's like, the only thing James is interested in, well… besides you" and she winked at me.<br>I always thought that the fact that James obviously had a huge crush on me was a pain in my ass and that the only reason he liked me was because of what I looked like.

However lately I had been questioning his real feelings towards me. Even though we hadn't really talked since the party I started to notice the little things about him.  
>He seemed much less immature this year than he left last year, which was nice as now he wasn't jinxing people in the hall just for laughs. He treated me much nicer and stopped bugging me as much with his obsessing. However what I noticed about him more was the fact that he seemed to be looking at me, all the time. Except it wasn't like a checking me out sort of look, it was more like he was struggling with some inner conflict. I was beginning to wonder what that was about. I decided I kind of liked being looked at that way, but just so we're clear I am in no way, developing feelings for James Potter.<p>

I think.

* 3 weeks later

**Sirius' Perspective:**

"Locking up a staff members cat?" cried Professor McGonagall  
>"Minnie" I said to the Professor adopting the nickname I had given to her second year,<p>

"I swear it wasn't us, what evidence do you have to prove that it was us?"  
>"The mere fact that the cat was locked in the Gryffindor broomstick shed was evidence enough as you two are the only ones who can access that shed apart from the rest of the team who I know for a fact were at breakfast the whole of this morning"<p>

I shifted guiltily in my seat, honestly I didn't understand the big deal; it was just a cat.  
>"When new a staff member comes into the school, we expect students to offer the respect that you give to current staff, perhaps not the amount of respect you show me, but the amount you would show the headmaster,"<p>

"I will be taking 10 points from all four of you today and you will attend detention for the rest of the week. You are also extremely lucky that I am also not banning you from attending the opening Quidditch match this Saturday".  
>I inhaled quickly… she was thinking of not letting us play? That would have been the biggest disaster of a century.<p>

We left Minnie's office in a rush, neither James nor I wanted to talk about our close shave; however what we DID want to talk about was how tired we were after our hard trainings,  
>"I swear Heath is gonna end up killing us all before Saturday, I'm dead tired" I yawned,<br>"Yeah me too I could sleep for three days right now."

In truth, our huge, muscly, Quidditch Captain Heath MacAulay was doing a really good job with trainings. They were fun and not boring which was a relief as last year trainings had been brutal even with no games coming up. Speaking of Heath I watched as he ran up to us,  
>"Hey boys" he greeted us with enthusiasm<br>"Hey heath" we replied together

"Okay, so the Slytherin game is two days away, we have a four hour training tonight boys, I'm sorry to do this to you, especially on a day like today, but if we're going to have conditions like these we best be prepared. See you at five this evening okay?"  
>I knew I was pissed, I glanced outside, the sky was as black as soot and there was already a relentless shower of rain over the grounds,<br>"We'll be there" James and I replied.

**James' Perspective:**

After two vigorous, muddy and wet trainings, it appeared that the weather had decided it was all rained out and Saturday 2nd October was a day of perfect Quidditch conditions, the sky was a perfect crystalline blue, not a cloud in it, there was a slight breeze and the sun was warm but not boiling.  
>The Quidditch game was disturbingly surprising. It seemed that the Slytherin's had welcomed their new player without hesitation and they had a completely new dynamic. It didn't help that at some point in the summer Snape had bulked up, it only reminded me that I needed to hit the gym.<p>

The game itself was relatively hard. At one point Slytherin were up by sixty points as our team had been thrown off by the new Slytherin dynamic and also due to the fact that Snape had aimed a bludger at Anna knocking her off her broom twelve minutes into the game. It was only when Emilia and I just managed to fly around the Slytherins and scored five points between us that the game evened up.

The race to the snitch was the highlight of the game, Hannah and Archie had both seen it hovering beside Tonks' foot and had both gone for it at exactly the same time. Nearly flying into each other and Tonks the snitch flew away invisibly but it was Archie that spotted it again. Tonks watched in horror as Archie closed in on the snitch, she accelerated as much as she could but we could all see that she wasn't going to make it in time. It was only thanks to a well timed bludger hit towards him by Sirius that Archie swerved and lost control of his broom. Everyone watched with anticipation as Hannah's hand closed around the snitch.

The Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws all cheered loudly but the Slytherins booed, we flew to the ground to shake hands to the good match and then we all trudged to the changing rooms,  
>"We won we won we won!" cried Heath,<br>"It should NOT have been that hard" said James  
>"Yeah, how on earth did Snape get that muscly?" said Anna,<br>"Man I should have seen that hit coming" she sighed,  
>"Don't beat yourself up Anna, we were all a little frazzled by them, but don't worry, we're going to train harder than ever because we could quite possibly be playing them in the final" said Heath.<p>

**Sirius' Perspective:**

After changing, we all walked back to the common room however James and I broke off to go and get some food from the kitchen for the victory party that was most likely already underway in the common room. As we walked we chatted happily about the game, we were so absorbed in discussing what new tactics the Slytherin's had that we didn't notice Headmaster Dumbledore standing right next to the portrait of the bowl of fruit that led to the kitchens,

"Err, hi Professor, what are you doing down here?" I asked,  
>"I might like to ask you the same thing Mr Black" replied Dumbledore cheerily<br>"Uh well you see Professor…" said James desperately grasping for an excuse however it appeared he didn't need one,

"Be calm boys, I was at the match myself and wow what a match it was, I understand that you would like to celebrate, but please, don't push our Elves too hard, after the work load you put them through last year after the final I have a good mind to changing the entrance into the kitchen, however I have some business to attend to so I am going to pretend I never saw you here, Toodly Pippily" and he walked away without another word,

"He's getting crazier by the minute" said James  
>"He isn't even that old" I said and we continued into the kitchen.<p>

*

When we arrived at the common room the party was in full swing. As we climbed through the portrait several hands grabbed us and the food at once. We barely had enough time to get through before we were talking to several people about the match,

"And Snape? I mean, I always thought he was skinny but oh my god! He's so muscly" cried an excited Jillian Jones,  
>"Yeah but he's still a greasy little twit" I said,<br>"You know Sirius you could have some competition" said Lily coming over. I snorted,  
>"Competition? From Snape? You have got to be joking" I laughed,<br>"Yeah Lily, I mean he's still a crazy mugwump" said James. She tried to keep a straight face but failed, she laughed at his poor joke, and he seemed delighted at having made her laugh,  
>"Lily, come on, that was so lame" I said,<br>"Whatever I thought it was funny" and she smiled at James.

What the hell? Was she sick?

* * *

><p><strong>DISCLAIMER: I do not own any recognizable characters. Everything is J.K Rowling's. The only thing I own is my original story linesplots. I may have used some quotes or references that I also do not own. J.K Rowling is the amazing writer who thought of everything. **

**Author's Note: A little note from me, just wanted to say that guys, everyone loves a review. Even just a couple of words, if you can take ten minutes out of your day to read my story than you could take another thirty seconds to write me a review. Reviews are not only for my benefit but for any of you who follow my story, leave me a review and then I'll know what need to change and what you want to see happen. **

**Thanks muffins, ****Amy **


	5. Purebloods And Potions

Chapter Five: Pure Bloods and Potions:

Mrs Black was a ghastly, rather overweight, horrible woman. She was Slytherin loving and she thought it an honour to be a pureblood, hating all half bloods, muggleborn's and muggles.  
>Mrs Black, was obviously Sirius' mother, and she had sent him a letter three days previously and it read like this,<p>

_Sirius,  
><em>_It has come to my attention that you are still, despite my views, exploiting how happy you are in being in Gryffindor. Now I know that it has been five years since you started at Hogwarts but I feel that this Gryffindor loving has gotten a bit out of hand. I have seen the banners in your bedroom, and quite frankly I was disgusted to see the blandness of the red and gold plastered around your room as opposed to the brilliant green and silver of Slytherin. You are a clever child Sirius and I am unhappy that you have tarnished the beloved house of Black with permanent sticking charms! I feel as if you have ignored our wishes to embrace your heritage and I have therefore decided to offer you a choice; either you appeal to the headmaster about switching to Slytherin, or I will.  
><em>_Regards,  
><em>_Your Mother. _

"She probably didn't even write it, it was probably Kreacher" was Sirius' response to the letter,  
>"She called you a child" said Lupin,<br>"I know! I mean come on I'm nearly sixteen! She hates me she really does; this is just a punishment for being brilliant and brave. Ugh, guys what do I do?" he said with a touch of humour despite the situation.  
>I had no idea what Sirius would do, I knew he would never leave Gryffindor if he was offered all the galleons in the world.<br>And so it was the next day that I was hardly surprised when he said,

"James, I think I'm going to leave home"  
>I knew this was coming so I replied with something I would only ever reply to him with<br>"Why don't you just come and live with me, you're obviously not planning on following your family, and my parents love you to pieces, it's only two more years of school and we can get out own place anyways"

I saw Sirius' eyes light up and return to his usual self. I knew that offering for him to stay at my house was the right thing to do because in truth I loved Sirius as a brother and I wouldn't want him to feel like he had no place to go.  
>"Really? You mean it James?"<br>"Of course I mean it you troll" I replied. Sirius laughed,  
>"Okay, when do I move in?" and he grinned at me,<br>"Hold your horses, I have to write to my parents" Sirius' face fell,  
>"Don't worry they'll be cool, could I have that letter from your mum to send them?"<br>He shrugged and handed me the letter,  
>"Okay let's go to the Owlery, Pippin hasn't had a job for ages, she'll love to take home a letter"<p>

When we arrived at the Owlery it took me a while to locate Pippin, my small tawny owl. She was only a couple of years old and I got her as a present from my parents for winning my first Quidditch Award; Qualified Quick Quaffler, a crazy award for scoring all the goals in a match. I finally spotted her and gave her the letter,  
>"This is for mum and dad okay?" and she clicked her beak and flew off,<br>"And now we wait" I said to Sirius, he replied with a grunt.

Days passed and we still hadn't heard from my parents. I wasn't worried but Sirius had started to become agitated. It was for the millionth time he had asked me if he heard anything when we were walking to Potions,

"You're sure you haven't heard anything?"  
>"Nothing's changed since you asked me at lunch"<br>"Yeah but maybe she went to the Owlery, have you checked?"  
>"No Sirius, I haven't checked if she's got a reply she'll bring it to me in the common room tonight"<br>Sirius looked put out "okay…" he replied sullenly.

We walked into Potions and realised our bickering had made us late. We hurried to sit down at our usual table shared with Heath, Hannah, Alice and Lily. Although Heath was a sixth year, he was in our potions class because last year he received Troll on his O.W.L and was being held back in potions,  
>"Hey beautiful ladies oh and Heath" whispered Sirius as we got settled. Alice and Lily ignored him and Heath laughed. Hannah smiled warmly at Sirius. When she turned around I made kissy faces at Sirius and he grinned and shushed me.<p>

"Today" said Professor Slughorn our potions teacher, "We will be starting your Potions Assignment" the class groaned,  
>"This assignment will be worth 30% of your final grade so do not treat this lightly. It is an extremely complicated potion that takes several weeks to perfect"<br>"The potion we will be brewing is called _Liquor__Laetitiae_ which means Liquid Happiness; it requires the four elements, wind, water, fire, and air to create. It also requires you to acquire a series of demanding ingredients which will push you to your limits of potional ability" and he smiled at the class which did not return the smile. Nevertheless he carried on with his explanation of the potion.

When he was finished, the whole class was stunned, we had never heard of such a complex potion. We thought it ironic that a potion made to make the drinker happy, made the maker unhappy while brewing it.  
>We each opened our books and a collective sigh rang throughout the room as we read the ingredients list;<p>

It read:  
><em>Ingredients:<br>__4 Fairy Wings  
><em>_A Vial of Bowtruckle Spit  
><em>_3 Doxy Eggs  
><em>_2 Chizpurfle Carapaces  
><em>_7 ½ Fire Seeds  
><em>_2 Mature Venomous Tentacula Roots  
><em>_4 Snargaluff Pods  
><em>_3 Pairs of Dried Double Cherries_

"Now as I explained before, the method will be difficult, but not as difficult as the ingredient foraging, so please, at the moment, don't worry about the method and concentrate on the ingredients. None of the ingredients need to be gathered at a certain time, but please, do not leave everything until the last minute. You have two months to gather every necessary ingredient plus extras in case of accidents and then we will begin the brewing."

"Now as this is such a complicated assignment you will be working in pairs" there was a series of yes' from around the classroom and I noticed Lily turn to Alice to work together. I turned to Sirius but before I could say a word Slughorn dropped yet another bomb on us,  
>"I will be picking the pairs". Outrage broke out in the class, people yelling at him and saying things like "that's not fair!" etc.<br>"Right then" he said cheerily and he went about the class pairing people up. When he got to our table he stopped by Sirius,

"Mr Black, you and Mr MacAulay will work together" Sirius looked a little apprehensive, Heath was a year behind in potions after all. Slughorn moved around the table and stopped by Lily and she looked up at him with pleading eyes,  
>"Please Sir, may Alice and I work together?"<br>"Now, now Miss Evans" chortled Slughorn,  
>"I couldn't let you pick and not the rest of the class… No… No Miss Evans, you will be paired with Mr Potter" and he smiled and walked away and continued pairing.<p>

I was dumbfounded. Over two months of working with Lily. Six weeks of studying late in the library and gathering ingredients. It was going to be great,  
>"Hey partner" I called to her. She looked terrified, as if I was endangering her chance of achieving Outstanding,<br>"I swear on Merlin's saggy Y fronts Potter, if you ruin this for me, I _will_ hate you forever." I swallowed hard and faked sincerity,  
>"Don't worry Evans, I'm going to treat this with the upmost seriousness" I struggled to keep a straight face,<br>"And I will be looking forward to the late night library sessions" I winked cheekily at her and to my surprise she blushed,

"Whatever Potter, just _don__'__t_ ruin this for me" she said surprisingly fondly.  
>Her friendliness towards me made me answer the question Sirius had asked me (what felt like) so long ago, did I love her? Internally I answered that question,<br>Yes, yes I did. And I couldn't believe my luck; I had an excuse to spend the majority of the next six weeks with Lily Evans the girl who I finally admitted to myself I Ioved.

_Oh. Yes._

I walked into the common room holding the reply from my parents, already having read it I chucked it at Sirius who was lounging on his bed. I watch him read it with anticipation and then laughed at him squeal like a little girl when he read the good news,  
>"Does this say what I think it says?" he asked<br>"Yup, you're nearly officially my brother" and I grinned at him,  
>"I'm finally free of my mother?" he asked<br>"Yup! I have a feeling my parents are going to regret this when we cause lots of trouble in summer" and I winked at him,  
>"Right now I could fly! I'm so happy, come here, give me a hug!" I looked at him,<br>"Come on Prongsie, not too old yet for hugs! But let's make it manly" and he winked at me. Instead of just a hug I tackled him to the ground and gave him the biggest bear hug I could manage, "Okay! You're hurting me gerroff!" Sirius choked out

I laughed, happy that my best friend was moving into my house.

* * *

><p><strong>DISCLAIMER: I do not own any recognizable characters. Everything is J.K Rowling's. The only thing I own is my original story linesplots. I may have used some quotes or references that I also do not own. J.K Rowling is the amazing writer who thought of everything. **

**Author's Note: A little note from me, just wanted to say that guys, everyone loves a review. Even just a couple of words, if you can take ten minutes out of your day to read my story than you could take another thirty seconds to write me a review. Reviews are not only for my benefit but for any of you who follow my story, leave me a review and then I'll know what need to change and what you want to see happen. **

**Thanks muffins, ****Amy **


	6. Singed

Chapter Six:

We were still sitting in the common room well after everyone had gone to bed, trying to figure out where we were going to get all our ingredients. We had been sitting here nearly three hours poring over books on the best ways to get each ingredient and what each ingredient did,  
>"I know for a fact that there are Bowtruckle's and Fairy's in the forbidden forest and that the Bowtruckle's live near the fire tee so we can get the seeds at the same time as we get the wings and spit, but how we are going to get in the forest without being seen?" asked Lily,<p>

"With the cloak?" I said  
>"Of course! The cloak! Now, the plants, most of these are in the greenhouses, we will just have to go and talk to Professor Sprout about those. Maybe she can tell us where to find the ones she doesn't have too" she said<br>"And what about Doxy Eggs and Chizpurfle Carapaces? Where on earth will we find those?" I asked  
>"To be honest, I have no idea… these books haven't told us much… let's just focus on getting the things we know we can get for now, and don't forget, we have to write the properties of each ingredient otherwise we fail"<br>"Properties got it" and I smiled at her.

Sitting there, having an actual conversation with Lily Evans for the first time in years was revolutionary. I had stopped making suggestive comments and she seemed to be treating me like an actual human being. Amidst our excitement about figuring out where we could get everything we needed, we had inched closer and closer to each other and we were now were sitting so close we were almost touching, I couldn't help but notice again how warm she was and how if she leaned back she would fit perfectly into my arm.

"James?" I could hear her talking to me but I was still studying her  
>"James?" she clicked her fingers in my face and I snapped out of marvelling at her perfect features,<br>"Uh sorry Lily, just um… admiring the uh…" she giggled, again, like last time; the sound caught me off guard,  
>"James just shut up, don't make this awkward, I like hanging out with you when you aren't being annoying, I think I might be starting to warm up to you, don't ruin it" and she smiled a genuine smile.<br>"So are we friends now?" I winked at her,  
>"Yes I suppose so James" she said with a tired tone,<br>"Oh my gosh! Look at the time, c'mon James; we should get some rest, because tomorrow we have to start getting these ingredients!" she said worriedly  
>"Relax Lily we have two months" I replied lazily,<p>

"And with that attitude two months will turn into three weeks and if we don't start now we will never be finished on time especially when everyone else starts gathering it will be a mission to get anything!" she snapped.

I forgot how much Potions meant to Lily sometimes. Personally I didn't understand why, it was a dull subject. The outcomes of a potion were great, but the mixing and the stirring and the cutting just wasn't my thing,  
>"Well goodnight Lily, we'll have to continue this another time, possibly next week? Heath has us training hard and I'll be dead tired if I stay up this late every night"<br>"Okay just let me know when we can start"  
>"Sure thing, goodnight beautiful" I said,<br>She sighed but I noticed her cheeks redden, a reaction my comments didn't usually evoke from her,

"Goodnight James" she replied.

**Sirius' Perspective:**

"This stupid potions thing is doing my head in! I have no idea where to get any of this stuff!" I said to James and Lupin,  
>"I'm doing great, Lily and I have already sorted out where we're going to get everything, the only thing we're stuck on is getting the doxy eggs and Chizpurfle carapaces!" said James looking mightily pleased with himself,<br>"Yeah that's just because you have Evans helping you! Where are you getting your ingredients?" I replied  
>"Is not! And for that comment I'm not telling you" he said<br>"Yeah it is" I sighed at him,  
>"Remus do you have any idea where to find all of this stuff seeing as Mr Goody Two Shoes over here won't share him and his lover's secrets with me"<p>

"Well Professor Sprout will most likely have all the plants, you've seen some of the crazy things she has growing in the greenhouses" Lupin replied. I looked at James and his face gave away that that was exactly where he had planned to get his plants from too,  
>"Ah ha! Okay I'll go to Sprouty, I'd better go get Heath before he gets 'frazzled' with his workload" and I laughed at the memory.<p>

"Hey Heath! OI HEATH!" I yelled to the retreating back of the huge Gryffindor Captain,  
><em>Seriously <em>_how __is __he __so __big?_ He turned around finally hearing me and stopped,  
>"What is it Black? I'm kind of in a rush; I have trainings to plan and homework to give in"<br>"Don't worry this won't take long" I found myself looking up at him,  
>"I figured out where we can get some of our ingredients. Professor Sprout might have some of the plants in the greenhouses and we could ask her where to find the other stuff?"<br>"Black! You're amazing! That's a good idea; did you come up with that on your own?"  
>I snorted, "What's that supposed to mean? That I'm stupid and can't come up with my own ideas? Thinking of ways to get girls is tough okay, it takes a special kind of man to achieve that level of greatness with the ladies" I said as I winked at him,<br>"Yeah okay Sirius, whatever, listen I have to go and prepare trainings so we can dazzle the Hufflepuff's with our mad skills next match" and he hurried off.

I stared after him, _did __he __really __just __say __dazzle?_

**Lily's Perspective:**

I was sitting in my bedroom with my friends Alice, Tonks, Emilia and Hannah. The topic of our conversations was boys. As it always seemed to be,  
>"Have you noticed how hot Heath MacAulay has gotten lately?" said Emilia<br>"Oh my god I know!" squealed Tonks  
>"Tonks, did you just squeal? I swear that's the first time I've heard a noise like that come from you" Tonks blushed,<br>"Sorry, but he's so _fine_" she said and we all laughed at her smitten face,  
>"I think Sirius is gorgeous, I mean, his eyes are so beautiful they make me want to melt, that perfect colour of stormy gray that seem like they can see into your soul" said Hannah. We all looked at her like she had gone crazy,<p>

"Ew Hannah, that is my cousin you are talking about" said Tonks  
>"Ha-ha sorry Tonks, but come on, even you have to admit he's pretty hot" said Hannah<br>"EW! That is _disgusting_ Hannah, he is my _cousin!__"_ cried Tonks and everyone except Emilia (who I assumed felt a bit awkward due to her fling with Sirius) laughed at their bickering,

"Say Alice, anyone take your fancy at the moment? Eh old girl?" I asked  
>"Okay I'll tell you if you stop talking like that" and we giggled,<br>"Yeah maybe I do have my eyes set on someone whose name starts with F?"  
>"OH MY GOD! You like Frank? That is sooooo weirdly cute!" Emilia cried<br>"Not as cute as the progress Lily and James are making at the moment" Alice replied.

My heart skipped a beat. Had she really just said that? How could she say that? She knew how I felt about him. I knew how I felt about him. At least, I thought I knew how I felt about him.  
>In truth, James was acting like a completely different guy at the moment. He seemed genuinely interested in helping me on our Potions assignment and when he wasn't around his friends he seemed much more sentimental and relaxed…<p>

"Hello, earth to Lily?" said Tonks  
>"What?"<br>"We were just observing you thinking about James Potter" said Emilia  
>"I was not thinking… okay maybe I was just a little bit" and everyone laughed at me<br>"James and Lily sitting in a whomping will-" started Tonks but I cut her off,  
>"NO! Don't you dare, I don't like him like that but I will admit that I am friends with him now he's stopped being a toe rag"<br>"Oooohhhhh" they all cried in unison and I felt my cheeks go red for what felt like the millionth time in the past few days.

**James' Perspective:**

I was fully aware at how close she was standing next to me. Albeit it was due to us both being huddled under the invisibility cloak but nevertheless I could hear her every breath and if I listened hard enough, the steady accelerated beat of her heart. We were in the forbidden forest, it was daytime but I knew the forest still freaked her out.

"James?" she whispered,  
>"Yes?" I replied<br>"Do you know where exactly Professor Grubbly-Plank said that the Bowtruckle's were?"  
>"Yeah she said that the fire trees are around north east of the entrance into the forest so we can get the seeds and then move onto the Bowtruckles"<br>"Well we've been going north east for a while and I cant see any…" she cut off in mid sentence and I looked down at her to see she was staring at something.

I followed her line of sight and there, in the middle of a clearing, was the largest tree I had ever seen, only it looked peculiar, as it wasn't tall; it was just really, really wide. And that wasn't the only thing that was odd about it, the whole thing was, as if someone had cast Inflammo at it, blazing in fire.  
>"Um, Lily? How exactly are we going to get the seeds from that?" I asked shakily<p>

"Well… I'm supposing we can cast Augamenti at it, maybe that will put it out? But for something this big we'll have to maximise it, so say Augamenti Maxima" she was rambling by this point. So with that being said, we shed the cloak and pulled out our wands,  
>"Okay on the count of three?" I said and she nodded,<br>"One…Two… Three! Augamenti maxima!" Fountains of water pulsed out of our wands straight at the tree, it seemed to be working and by the time we had eliminated the fire from the whole tree we were panting with the effort,

"Okay, well done us, now how do we get the seeds?" I asked panting  
>"Well, they're at the base of the tree, so I'll have to crawl under the foliage because you're um… too big to fit"<br>I smiled inwardly at the fact she had acknowledged how muscly I am. Before I could reply and say sounds good the tree blazed alight again,  
>"Woah! Okay, I think we have limited time before the tree sets itself alight… Which means, if you don't cast your spell correctly while I'm crawling, I could be toasted…" she said timidly<br>"Well then I'll cast my spell correctly won't I? Don't worry Lily I won't let anything happen to you, ever" I replied

**Lily's Perspective:**

"Well then I'll cast my spell correctly won't I? Don't worry Lily I won't let anything happen to you, ever" He replied to my ramblings about being toasted.  
>I thought about that comment, it made me feel good, and I admitted to myself that no matter how scared I was, I could trust James to look after me. I think the heat of the enormous bush was getting to me.<p>

"Thanks James, okay so on the count of three we'll cast the spell again, then once the tree is out I'll run and crawl under the leaves, I'll try and be quick and if you have to, try and keep the fire off me if I don't get out quick enough" I said to him registering the scared look on his face,  
>"C'mon James focus, one…two…three! Auguamenti Maxima!" I could feel the heat emitting from the tree, it was blistering hot, but also, as the water poured from my wand and dribbled over my fingers I felt relief.<p>

As the tree burned out, I broke my spell and sprinted into the sizzling foliage and spray of James' spell. I felt it singe my clothes and burn my skin but the adrenaline of getting our first ingredient was pumping through my body like fuel. I crawled as quickly as I could and as I got deeper and deeper towards the base of the tree's trunk I could only feel the droplets of James' water. I kept my eyes open as much as I could and after what felt like too long I found myself at the base of the tree.  
>It was glowing. A pulsating orange colour was trying to push its way out of the ground, acting on instinct I pushed my wand into the dirt and shouted,<p>

"Accio fireseeds!"

At first nothing happened and feeling dejected and starting to panic and I pulled my wand out of the alien dirt. Then after a few seconds I could see the dirt shifting and watched the orange glow getting closer and closer to the dirt's surface. Then, almost comically, with a Pop! A plump little glowing seed about the size of a plum made its way out of the ground and onto the surface.  
>As I tried to pick it up, I found that it was scalding hot, so I quickly juggled it up and thrust it into my now torn backpack. I repeated my summoning spell and managed to secure the last seven seeds.<p>

Tired, and feeling very hot, I made my way back to the edges of the foliage. In the back of my mind I noticed the stifling heat. I couldn't put the pieces together in my head and it wasn't until I saw the blinding orange of fire that I realised the tree was alight again,  
>"JAMES!" I screamed desperately,<br>"JAMES! Help me! It's alight, and it's bloody hot!"  
>I listened for a reply, nothing, all I could hear was the roar of the fire in my ears. My body was telling me that the heat was too much, that the smoke from the leaves was filling my lungs, and that I was seconds away from passing out.<p>

As I lost consciousness I noticed the temperature dropping, I could feel the water on my face, but that was the last thing I could remember before I passed out completely.

**James' Perspective:**

"Lily wake up, come on, wake up Lily, you're all right wake up!"  
>I could hear his voice, the voice that had so many times ridiculed me and thrown me rude compliments, only now, it sounded like velvet, wrapping around my body and mind, keeping me only semi conscious,<br>"Lily, please wake up, you need to wake up" I could hear the urgency in his voice, I could understand the meaning behind it, I realised the voice was telling me that the fact that I needed to get up was extremely important.

Slowly but steadily, and coughing like an old man, I regained my consciousness and sat up.  
>The first thing I noticed was James' face inches away from my own,<br>"Okay so did you just save my butt?" I asked, he laughed,  
>"Yes I think I did" he replied thankfully<br>"Well, was it worthwhile? Did you get my backpack?" I asked  
>"Yes, Miss Evans, I think that I do in fact, have your backpack" and he threw me my blackened bit of cloth that could hardly be called a backpack anymore. I opened it up, and there, still brightly glowing, were my eight, hard earned fire seeds,<p>

"Well would you look at that" I said to James,  
>"Yep, one ingredient down, seven to go" I said as I looked at him and laughed.<br>This was going to be intense.

* * *

><p><strong>DISCLAIMER: I do not own any recognizable characters. Everything is J.K Rowling's. The only thing I own is my original story linesplots. I may have used some quotes or references that I also do not own. J.K Rowling is the amazing writer who thought of everything. **

**Author's Note: A little note from me, just wanted to say that guys, everyone loves a review. Even just a couple of words, if you can take ten minutes out of your day to read my story than you could take another thirty seconds to write me a review. Reviews are not only for my benefit but for any of you who follow my story, leave me a review and then I'll know what need to change and what you want to see happen. **

**Thanks muffins, ****Amy **


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